As it is generally known, in computer-based communications, instant messaging systems enable instant communications between two or more people over a communication network such as the Internet. Instant messaging typically requires the use of a client program to provide an instant messaging service. Instant messaging differs from electronic mail (“email”) in that conversations happen in real-time. Instant messaging sessions are sometimes referred to as “chat” sessions. Examples of existing instant messaging technologies include Qnext, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Skype, Google Talk, .NET Messenger Service, Jabber, QQ, iChat and ICQ, and Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
In existing instant messaging applications, a user first initiates a session with at least one other participant. After the session is initiated, information is passed back and forth between the session participants, and is displayed in a live session display area of the application user interface. The content displayed in an instant messaging session user interface live session display area may be sensitive in nature, such that the session participants would not want someone outside the session to be able to read it. However, the user interface live session display area may remain visible on a session participant's client computer system after the session has ended, thus potentially allowing any sensitive information to be viewed by non-participant users that were not intended to see the information. For example, if a session participant gets up from their computer system without closing the session user interface window, another person may be able to see the session contents while the participant is away from his or her desk, and the session participants would not even know that sensitive session content had been seen by someone else.
Additionally, in many situations, the live session display area of the application user interface can become cluttered with large amounts of content, such as text, images, etc. Sometimes the accumulated visual clutter will make it difficult for the user to read the messages being displayed in the live session display area.
In existing systems, there is no effective mechanism for removing content from the live session display area of an instant messaging system user interface. Existing systems do allow a user to insert several blank lines into the screen manually, but that approach does not remove the currently displayed content—scrolling will bring it back into the live session display area. A user can also close a session and open a new session to remove the live session display area and its current contents from view. However, closing a session is often an inconvenient step to take. Moreover, if the currently displayed session contents to be removed from the live session display area continues to have relevance, then a user may not want to permanently remove it from the session, but only to temporarily clear the live session display area for security and/or readability.
For these reasons it would be desirable to have a new system that allows a user to clear a live session display area provided in an instant messaging system application user interface provided on a participant's client computer system. The system would advantageously allow a user to clear content from the live session display area on a temporary basis, such that the cleared content is not permanently lost but only temporarily removed from the live session display area. Such a system would advantageously help prevent sensitive session contents from being exposed to non-participant users, and/or make subsequent messages more readable.